WWTO-TV

WWTO-TV, virtual channel 35 (UHF digital channel 32), is a TBN owned-and-operated television station serving Chicago, Illinois, United States that is licensed to Naperville. Owned by the Trinity Broadcasting Network, it is sister to Plano-licensed Hillsong Channel owned-and-operated station WLPD-CD (channel 30). The two stations share studios on Vision Court in Aurora and transmitter facilities in Glen Ellyn, near the campus of the College of DuPage.[4]

WWTO-TV
Naperville/Chicago, Illinois
United States
CityNaperville, Illinois
ChannelsDigital: 32 (UHF)
(shared with WLPD-CD)
Virtual: 35 (PSIP)
Programming
Affiliations35.1: TBN
35.2: Hillsong Channel
35.3: Enlace
35.4: Positiv[1]
Ownership
OwnerTrinity Broadcasting Network
(Trinity Broadcasting of Texas, Inc.)
WLPD-CD
History
First air date
December 12, 1986 (1986-12-12)[2][3]
(in LaSalle, Illinois; license moved to Naperville in 2017)
Former call signs
Digital:
WWTO-DT (2003–2009)
Former channel number(s)
Analog:
35 (UHF, 1986–2009)
Digital:
10 (VHF, until 2017)
35 (UHF, 2017–2019)
Call sign meaning
Wide
World of
TOmorrow
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID998
ERP15 kW
HAAT86.5 m (284 ft)
Transmitter coordinates41°50′18.3″N 88°4′48.9″W
Links
Public license information
Profile
LMS
Websitewww.tbn.org

Until November 13, 2017, WWTO-TV (then licensed to LaSalle) maintained transmitter facilities[5] located in Deer Park Township, LaSalle County (near Starved Rock State Park) and had studios on East Stevenson Road in Ottawa. Though nominally within the Chicago television market, LaSalle is geographically at the far edges of several television markets.

History

The first station to broadcast on UHF channel 35 from LaSalle went on the air on November 7, 1957 as WEEQ, a satellite station of WEEK-TV in Peoria.[6][7] WEEK and WEEQ were acquired by a company related to Kerr-McGee, but sold off after Senator Robert S. Kerr's death.[8] The sale, approved by the Federal Communications Commission on July 13, 1966, was for $3,088,650 ($24,338,600 adjusted for inflation) and transferred the stations to Mid-America Television Co., owned by Kansas City Southern Industries.[9] The station still appeared in the 1973 Broadcasting Yearbook but not the 1974 edition.

Late 1980's

WWTO-TV began broadcasting operations in early December 1986 in Ottawa, It and was licensed to All American Broadcasting Company which was owed and operated by Nicky Cruz and Sonny Arguinzoni.The first Chief Engineer of the TV station was Glen Dingley who also acted as the Station Manager in the first few years of operation. He was responsible for building out the station and placing it on the air. Mr. Dingley then left the station in 1990 to return to his hometown of Houston, Texas.[2][3]

Digital television

Digital channels

This station's digital signal, unlike most other full-service TBN owned-and-operated stations, carries four instead of five different TBN-run networks since it is under a channel sharing agreement.

Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[1]
35.1720p16:9TBNMain TBN programming
35.2480iHillsongHillsong Channel
35.34:3EnlaceEnlace
35.416:9PositivPositiv

TBN-owned full-power stations permanently ceased analog transmissions on April 16, 2009.

Cable carriage

LaSalle lies at the far western end of its nominal Chicago media market. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has declared many communities served by Chicago-area cable systems to be outside of WWTO-TV's designated market, and denied must-carry status. In 1997 ruling in favor of Time Warner Cable, the FCC noted that "WWTO-TV has at best a minimal viewing presence in the Chicago ADI as a whole, and the communities are located approximately 65 to 70 miles from WWTO-TV. Furthermore, the station has never been carried on the cable system in question, offers no programming specifically for the relevant communities, and provides no over-the air signal coverage of the Communities."[10] The FCC made a similar ruling in 1999 concerning dozens of cable services in McHenry, DuPage, Lake, Cook, Kane and Will counties in Illinois and Lake, Porter, LaPorte and Jasper counties in Indiana. In that order, the FCC noted that "out of the 10 counties herein, the A.C. Nielsen 1997 County/Coverage Survey does not even list WWTO-TV and for the one where it is listed, Will County, only minimal viewership is recorded."[3] Xfinity sources most of TBN's networks via their national feeds within the Chicago market, outside of must-carry situations where WWTO-DT1's signal must be utilized (WWTO does not hold must-carry rights for its subchannels).

Translators

Until 2010, WWTO rebroadcast its signal on translators throughout Northern and Central Illinois; however, due to financial strains endured by TBN, these translators closed down in early 2010.

W19CX would later be sold to Luken Communications, the parent company of Retro Television Network, under the licensee name "Digital Networks - Midwest".[19]

W22AJ would later be sold to one of the owners of KAXT-CD in San Jose, California, under the licensee name of "Chicago 22, LLC".[20] The callsign was changed to WRJK-LP on January 18, 2013.[21]

W34DL, W51CT and W51DT would later be donated to the Minority Media and Television Council (MMTC);[22] however W34DL and W51CT would later be cancelled, due to inactivity for over one year.[23] The current occupant of channel 34 in Champaign, W34EH-D, is on a new license under a different owner.[24] Only W51DT would remain active under MMTC's ownership.

W40BY would be purchased by Spanish-language broadcaster Liberman Broadcasting, the parent of Estrella TV in February 2010, giving that network a station in Chicago. The sale was completed on December 6, 2010, with the call letters changed to WESV-LD.

To date, TBN still holds the licenses for W25CL, W29BG and W50DD; however, these translators are among the 36 TBN has sold to Regal Media, a broadcasting group headed by George Cooney, the CEO of the EUE/Screen Gems studios, on April 13, 2012.[25]

References
  1. Digital TV Market Listing for WWTO
  2. For the 1986 air date, the Broadcasting and Cable Yearbook says December 1, while the Television and Cable Factbook says December 5.
  3. DA-99-307: Memorandum Option and Order: Jones Cable TV Fund 12-A, Ltd./Jones Cable TV Fund 15-A, Ltd. and TCI of Illinois, Inc. and its Affiliates. For Modification of the ADI of Station WWTO-TV, LaSalle, Illinois. CSR-5314-A and CSR-5315-A. Federal Communications Commission. 5 February 1997. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
  4. https://www.rabbitears.info/tower.php?request=site&asrn=1029952
  5. WWTO-TV, Naperville, Illinois - Status of Operation
  6. 1960 Broadcasting Yearbook (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1960. p. A-39.
  7. Quick, Doug (2009-03-13). "Other Television History". Vermilion County, Illinois. Archived from the original on 2010-12-16. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
  8. Corarito, Gregory (1967). "Chapter 4: KVOO". The History and Development of Television in Tulsa, Oklahoma. University of Tulsa, Graduate School. Thesis cites Tulsa Tribune of 5 December 1957 as its reference for Kerr-McGee adding some stations.
  9. 1967 Broadcasting Yearbook (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1967. p. A-96.
  10. DA-97-545: Memorandum Option and Order: Time Warner Entertainment - Advance Newhouse Partnership, dba Time Warner Cable. Granted petition for special relief for modification of the television market of Station WWTO-TV, La Salle, Illinois. Federal Communications Commission. 14 March 1997. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
  11. "Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. April 28, 2010. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  12. http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1368700&Service=TX&Form_id=910&Facility_id=68061
  13. "Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. April 27, 2010. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
  14. "Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. April 26, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  15. "Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. May 13, 2010. Retrieved May 14, 2010.
  16. "Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. April 27, 2010. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
  17. "Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. April 28, 2010. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  18. "Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. May 14, 2010. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
  19. FCC application: "Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA" for W19CX
  20. FCC application: "APPLICATION FOR AUTHORITY TO CONSTRUCT OR MAKE CHANGES IN A LOW POWER TV, TV TRANSLATOR OR TV BOOSTER STATION" for W22AJ
  21. http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=68061&Callsign=WRJK-LP
  22. FCC document: "COMMENTS OF LPTV ENTREPRENEURS", December 17, 2010.
  23. "Re: Applications for Assignment of License…" (PDF). CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. November 30, 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
  24. FCC records for W34EH-D
  25. FCC document: "Asset Purchase Agreement: Trinity Christian Center Of Santa Ana, Inc. / Trinity Broadcasting Of Arizona, Inc. (Sellers) and Regal Media, Inc. (Buyer)
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